Separable catch for necklaces and the like



p 1, 1953 R. c. BANGS 2,650,398

SEPARABLE CATCH FOR NECKLACES AND THE LIKE Filed July 2a, 1948 INVENTOR.

Patented Sept. 1, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT EFPI CTE SEPARABLE CATCH FOR NECKLACES AND THE Ralph C. Bangs, Providence, R. :I., :assign'or .to Euro, 1110., a corporation of Rhode Island Application July 28, 1948, SerialNo. 41,082

an extension catch for a necklace, having a catch and a latch element each provided with necklace length adjusting parts.

,A further object is to provide a jewelry length adjustment catch made of a small number of readily manufactured and-assembled parts.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, the invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 i a perspective view of an illustrative necklace catch embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, the parts being shown in separated relation;

Fig. 3 is a central horizontal section through Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of Fig. 1; and

Figs. 5 to 9 inclusive are perspective detail views of the parts prior to assembly.

It has been found desirable to provide a catch for necklaces and the like and particularly for pearl necklaces, which permits a substantial length adjustment of the necklace. To this end, I provide a catch with latch and catch members which include chambers for receiving selected lengths of the necklace ends, whereby a substantial length adjustment may be obtained without changing the length of the necklace.

Referring to the drawings, the catch [0 is separable and includes a catch member II and a latch member l2 adapted to respectively receive the ends of a necklace, the two elements having co-operating releasable lock parts as hereinafter described.

The catch member ll includes a base I3, see Fig. 3, having a slightly arcuate curvature, and comprising a front portion l4 with an upturned resilient end flange [5, the end flange having a slot I6 in its upper edge, and a rear portion ll of reduced width and provided with spaced edge notches l8 and terminal upstanding pivot lugs IS. A small plate member 20, see Fig. 6, of the same length and width as the rear portion H, has side edges 20, 2| which seat on the rear portion and terminal lugs 22 which extend through the edge notches l8 and are bent over as illustrated in Fig.4 to provide an'open-ended rear housing 23 in conjunction with the rear portion 11. Oneside 2D has aside notch *or slot '24 for releasably receiving a catch part as hereinafter described, and the rearo'f the plate-member 20 has a rear extension "25 having its end 26 bent upwardly to provide a closure endfor ahollow trough shaped cover shll'2'lysee'Fig. 9,'which has aclosed front-end 28 adapted "to releasably snap engage the upturned end flange l5 and provided with a lip notch or slot -29 in alignment with the slot [6 when in closed position, the rear end 30 of the cover shell being open and thesides adjacenttheretohaving pivot openings 3| adapted to receive the ends of a pin 32 which is rotatably mounted in the pivot lugs (9. When the cover shell 21 is in closed relation to the base [3 it forms a hollow chamber 33 which receives a desired length of necklace, the slots l6 and 29 firmly gripping the string or other tie between selected adjacent necklace elements, to retain a desired length of the necklace end within the hollow chamber, and the rear open end of the hollow chamber 33 above the rear housing 23, being closed by the plate end 26. One side of the open shell cover end is cut away as indicated at 34 for a purpose hereinafter described.

The latch member I2 is generally similar in construction to the catch member I I; it includes a base 35 of identical construction with the base [3, a cover shell 36 of generally identical construction with the cover shell 21 and. pivotally mounted on the rear of the base 35, the base 35 and the cover shell 36 respectively having cooperating slots 31, 38.

A plate member 39 generally similar to the plate member 20 has its sides 40, 4| respectively provided with a small notch 42 and a wide slot 43, and has depending lugs 44 which seat in notches 45 in the rear portion 46 of the base 35 and are bent over as illustrated in Fig. 4. The plate member 39 has a rear extension 41 and an upturned closure end 48 for closing the open end of the cover shell 36 when the cover shell is in closed relation to the base 35, and provides an open-ended housing 49 when assembled on the base 35. A latch element 50, see Fig. 8, comprises a plate portion 5|, a narrow lug 52 on one side adapted to seat in the notch 42, and a wide lug 53 on the other side adapted to seat in the notch 43, to firmly secure the latch element in place in the housing 49; the plate portion 5| has an integral spring 54 of V-shape type extending therefrom, the spring leg 55 having a side tooth 56 for snapping engagement into the side notch 24 of the catch member housing when the latch element is inserted into the open end of the catch member housing, and a lateral finger engageable extension 51 adapted to extend through the cut away space 34 of the cover shell 21 and the contiguous cut away space 58 of the cover shell 35.

As shown in Fig. 3, the latch member construction provides a hollow chamber 59 into which a selected length of the other end of the necklace is removably received, the co-operating slots 31 and 38 locking the necklace end in the hollow chamber between selected adjacent necklace elements.

The above described construction thus includes a catch member and a co-operating latch member, which are separable to open the necklace and snap close together to close the necklace, each member being hollow and adapted to removably receive and conceal a selected length of a necklace end, whereby the visible necklace length may be adjusted as desired.

Although I have described a specific constructional embodiment of my invention, it is obvious that changes in the size, shape, proportions and arrangement of the parts, and in their operation, may be made to conform the catch to different designs of necklaces, pendants, or other elongated jewelry items, without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

A length adjustment catch for necklaces and the like, having separable catch and latch member including a latch element having a plate portion secured in the latch member housing and a spring element integral with the plate portion and extending outwardly from the base of the latch member and adapted to slide into the housing of the catch member and snap close therein, the pivot means of the catch and latch members being adjacent to each other, whereby the ends of a bead necklace may be length adjustably set in the catch and latch member bases with the necklace cord seated within the aligned flange and cover slots.

RALPH C. BANGS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,099,484 Brassler June 9, 1914 1,159,311 Wolcott Nov. 2, 1915 2,044,869 Alkin June 23, 1936 2,131,454 Prestinari Sept. 2'7, 1938 2,176,709 Dym Oct. 17, 1939 2,251,463 Myrberg Aug. 5, 1941 

